To recover oil or other hydrocarbons from underground, a hole commonly referred to as a well is drilled to within a deposit within which the oil or other hydrocarbon is retained. Such drilling occurs using a boring device called a bit which is pressed hard against the ground while turning. The bit is typically part of a cutting head that is screwed onto the end of a hollow pipe commonly referred to as drill rod or drill pipe. Rotational motion is imparted to the drill rod and correspondingly the cutting head having the bit connected to it. The rotating bit crunches into the rock and scrapes and gouges it out to make a well.
At the same time the bit is rotating, drilling fluid/mud is pumped inside the hollow drill rod, and out of the bit. The drilling fluid flows out around the bit and transports the removed material annularly about the drill rod and out of the bore hole/well being drilled.
The tailcuttings from the drilling are diverted away from the drill rod very close to where they exit the hole being drilled. When conducting down-hole drilling, or drilling downwardly at an angle, gravity effectively keeps the drilling mud from flowing to any significant degree upwardly along the drill rod past the point where the drilling mud is diverted away from the drill rod. However if the initial angle of drilling is horizontal or at some upward angle, for example as might occur in oil mining techniques, the drilling mud can fall/flow by gravity rearward along the drill rod past the desired point of diversion.
While the invention was motivated in addressing the above identified issues, it is in no way so limited. The invention is only limited by the accompanying claims as literally worded, without interpretative or other limiting reference to the specification, and in accordance with the doctrine of equivalents.